Eventtia Blog

A well-designed event mobile app will create an engaging and memorable experience for attendees. In this article we take a look at the ways you can further engage event attendees right in the palm of their hands.

It is estimated that 2.5 billion people worldwide own a smartphone and over 5 billion have a mobile phone.

So almost everyone is digitally connected to some extent these days and are using their cell phone multiple times a day to receive new information.

As event planners, our ultimate goal is to plan a successful yet memorable event for all attendees. Event mobile apps have become a mainstream way to engage with attendees round the clock.

Besides email and social media, apps are the best method to reach your target audience right at their fingertips.

Nine times out of ten, your event attendees have the goal of achieving two things: building their network and learning something new. As an event planner, you can help them accomplish both of these things before walking in the door.

Let’s take a look at how you can use an event mobile app to enhance the experience of your guests:

Encourage attendees to download the app early on

Build excitement before the event begins by emailing registrants a month in advance to notify them that the app is available for them to download.

This will allow you to disseminate important information like recommended hotels, things to do in the area, and what they should know before they arrive.

Create a customizable event experience through the app

Allow attendees to decide on what their event experience looks like. With our app, conference goers can build their own schedule days before the event starts.

We’ve found an increase in engagement during events when participants aren’t restricted to a specific schedule. They can change their mind at the last minute and move things around as the day shifts.

Keep attendees informed and up to date with push notifications

The great thing about mobile technology today is that you can always push out updates to reach your target audience through SMS and push notifications.

If attendees opt-in to use these features, they will be guaranteed to stay engaged and tuned into any important announcements. Push notifications will help you reach event goers before, during, and after the event.

Boost online engagement with the chat functionality

With the use of the chat feature event attendees can chat in real time with other registrants and receive updates from organizers. Think of the chat feature as a social networking tool embedded in the app.

Conference participants who download the app can share photos and status updates all within the interface of the chat feature. As an event organizer, it is recommended that you post new content leading up to the event, during, and after. Don’t just post status updates, also engage with attendee content. This keeps the conversation going and spark engagement.

Gamify the event experience

Gamification is a great way to engage with event attendees. Research shows that when conferences gamify the event experience, they instantly saw a spike in engagement.

Some traditional methods of gamification inside the mobile app are rewarding users for participating in polls, ice breakers, surveys, attending sessions and continuous use of the chat feature.

People love the use of the rewards system and the chance to win prizes. You can encourage participation and reinforce the opportunity to win by pushing out SMS messages and push notifications.

Take advantage of the cross-platform capability

Every attendee may have a different device preference so it’s important to invest in a mobile-app that also has desktop capabilities.

This provides the same experience for all devices. Many people like to conserve their battery life throughout the event and offering the same experience on a laptop lets them take notes during the day while checking for new updates on the app.

The opportunity to give feedback throughout the day

The great thing about using a mobile app for your conference or tradeshow, you can poll attendees throughout the event to measure their engagement levels and receive feedback on their experience. Post-event attendees can access a survey right away and complete with just a few clicks in the app.

Continue to provide new content exclusive to app users

Continuous learning is a hot topic in the events industry right now. Attendees want to have access to the content provided during the conference after they leave. The mobile app shouldn’t be deleted after the conference is over.

To meet the needs of the continuous learner you should continue to provide them with new content that will keep them engaged. One example is to upload new videos and industry articles from influencers that can be shared outside of the app. This extends the lifetime of the mobile app.

The mobile adoption rate continues to increase year after year, so now is the ideal time to examine how you can provide a memorable experience through the interface of a smart phone app.

It’s time to think beyond delivering excellent programing but also considering the technology components of your event. When integrated seamlessly mobile apps can deliver an intimate and engaging experience. We just highlighted a few ways to engage event attendees. To learn more, request to have access to a free trial of our mobile app.